THE PRODUCERS

Universal Pictures
Susan Stroman (Director)
2005
Role: Lead Tenor

With his hair dyed a striking blond and dressed as a Nazi Storm Trooper, John led the iconic 'Springtime For Hitler' number in the Mel Brooks/Susan Stroman musical of The Producers, adapted from Brooks' original film and the stage musical.

In his first autobiography, Anything Goes, John describes how
he was offered the role:

"Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman had come to see me in Trevor
Nunn's revival of Anything
Goes at the National Theatre on London's South Bank. In my dressing
room after the performance, they'd asked if I'd be interested in taking
the lead tenor role in the song 'Springtime for Hitler' in the upcoming
film of the hit Broadway show The Producers, which Stroman was
directing. I agreed immediately - partly because I'd been a fan of
Brooks for years, especially Young Frankenstein. Once, during a long
plane trip back to Scotland from America, Carole [Barrowman] and I had recited
entire scenes from that movie, much to the annoyance of most of the
passengers around us."